Instructions & Information for Proposal Submission

1. The Dudley T. Dougherty Foundation uses a 3-step online grant proposal to execute the submission process. You may preview all 3 pages without triggering a submission, but once you begin, please complete the grant proposal in one sitting. A user account is NOT provided to add/change the content after the proposal is submitted.
2. If you wish to maintain a copy of your proposal, we highly advise you to create that document yourself before or alongside your application process, as we do not convert applications into a portable document format.
3. Please attach any supporting documents on the last page of the proposal. You may attach up to 8 files.
4. Attachments are purely optional, but a copy of your organization's 501(c)(3) is recommended (e.g., IRS Determination letter).
5. Other documents such as brochures, photos, or budgets can also be uploaded. Please bear in mind that attachment size is limited to 2 MB.
6. Please submit only one application per organization. The older application will be deleted, and only the newest application will be kept.
7. You will receive an email confirmation once your application has been submitted. Please check your spam folder if you do not see an email in your inbox.
8. We will notify you of the result by early January.

FAQ

Who is eligible to apply for a grant from the Dudley T. Dougherty Foundation?

To be eligible for a grant from the Dudley T. Dougherty Foundation, your organization must be a US-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and be listed in the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. We do not make grants to individuals, for-profit organizations, or organizations that are not 501(c)(3) non-profits. Please note that we do not currently validate applications using the Official Catholic Directory.

When will decisions be made on grant applications?

Grant decisions are typically made in December. Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application shortly thereafter. If you have not received a decision by mid-January, please first check your spam folder and then contact us at the email address below for assistance.

Can I discuss my organization or application with the foundation before submitting?

While we are unable to offer individual consultations on specific proposals prior to submission due to the high volume of inquiries, we encourage you to review our Previous Grants page for insight into our historical funding patterns.

Can I save my application and continue working on it later?

We do not provide any sort of user account system for applicants. To avoid losing any work, we recommend that you complete your application in a 3rd-party word processor before pasting into our form and submitting.

What do I do if I need to change something in my application?

Please refrain from contacting us by email for edit or attachment requests. If your application was accidentally submitted with inaccurate information or before it was completed, you may submit again; the prior application will be discarded and the newer submission will be understood to replace it.

How competitive is the grant process?

We received many more applications last year than in previous years. Our rough acceptance rate for recent years was as follows:

• 2024: 1.5%
• 2023: 4.8%
• 2022: 4.7%
• 2021: 7.8%

Further Assistance

The Dudley T. Dougherty Foundation is a paperless foundation, therefore please direct any additional questions to the following email address:
contact@dudleytdoughertyfoundation.org